Good Samaritans assisted in Greenwich bus crash aftermath

Fire response time to a serious bus collision on upper King Street in April was over seven minutes.

Fire response time to a serious bus collision on upper King Street in April was over seven minutes.

Photo: Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

Photo: Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

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Fire response time to a serious bus collision on upper King Street in April was over seven minutes.

Fire response time to a serious bus collision on upper King Street in April was over seven minutes.

Photo: Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

Good Samaritans assisted in Greenwich bus crash aftermath

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GREENWICH — The 10 people transported to Stamford Hospital after two buses collided on upper King Street — including five who had to be extricated from the wreckage — were “reported to be in good to fair condition” a day after the crash, police said Wednesday.

Police were working to determine what happened in the horrific crash Tuesday afternoon between a large bus operated by Countrywide Transportation and a small bus operated by Royal Coach Lines.

Greenwich police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact authorities.

Several good Samaritans responded quickly to the collision to help, and it is expected they will be debriefed on what they saw, police said Wednesday morning.

Police investigators are looking to gain a comprehensive account of the collision, which occurred just after 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The large bus operated by Countywide Transportation and a small bus operated by Royal Coach Lines, which provides transportation for Sacred Heart Greenwich students.

“A preliminary investigation has determined that one bus was traveling northbound and one was traveling southbound when they collided. The Countrywide Transportation was occupied by nine people, including the driver and seven special needs adults (and a group monitor). The Royal Coach Lines bus was only occupied by the driver,” according to a statement from Greenwich Police Lt. John Slusarz.

King Street was closed for over four hours after the crash for the police investigation.

Members of the Greenwich Fire Department extricated five people from the wreckage and treated the others, all in under 20 minutes, according to a Tweet from the department’s union.

“Great job by our members at the accident on King Street,” Greenwich Fire L1042 said via Twitter @Greenwich_Fire. “Engines 4, 8, 3, 1, Rescue 5 and Car 3 responded. A few hours later those same units extinguished a chimney fire on Rex Street.”

The Sacred Heart Greenwich administration said the yellow bus was headed to campus to begin picking up students for the trip home after classes, according to school spokeswoman Haley Sonneland.

The bus is operated by a private transportation company on behalf of the village of Irvington, N.Y., to transport Sacred Heart students; the bus is not owned and operated by the school, Sonneland said.

In an email to the Sacred Heart Greenwich community, Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes asked students and parents to keep those injured in the accident “in their prayers” and thanked the Greenwich emergency services teams for their prompt response.

Anyone who may have witnessed the bus collision is asked to contact Sgt. Patrick Smyth of the Greenwich Police Department’s Traffic Section at 203-622-8015.